A Pakistan court on Monday directed jail authorities to provide heart medicines to Uzma Khan, sister of incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan, a court official said.
The court, however, rejected the plea of all three sisters of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan to release them from jail.
Lahore High Court Justice Abher Gul Khan took up a petition challenging the preventive detention of Imran's sisters, Aleema Khan, Noreen Niazi and Uzma.
They have been in custody for three weeks under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance after their arrest in September ahead of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) long march.
"During the hearing, Uzma’s husband, Ahad Khan, told the court that his wife had a heart condition and needed medicines daily. He asked the court to direct the authorities to ensure that the medicines were delivered to her in jail daily," the official said.
The petitioner also argued for their release, terming their detention illegal.
"After the arguments, the judge ordered the jail authorities to provide medicines to Uzma but turned down the request for their release," he said.
The sisters were detained ahead of the PTI's long march, which began in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 4, with the party demanding the release of its founder Imran Khan, who has been incarcerated at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi since 2023.
Former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was leading the long march.
However, Pakistan imposed an emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Sunday and Afridi and seven other PTI leaders have been taken into protective custody.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on August 18 ordered the immediate transfer of former prime minister Imran Khan, who has been languishing in jail for over three years, to a private hospital in Islamabad for medical treatment.
Uzair Bhandari, one of Khan's lawyers, told Al Jazeera that the court also directed that the ex-PM's family be allowed to meet him at the hospital, and that he be permitted to speak with his sons, who live in the UK.
Family members of Imran Khan have accused authorities of preventing him from accessing appropriate medical care.
Khan's London-based sons, Sulaiman and Kasim Khan, told Deutsche Welle they had received "little to no information" about their father's health.
"When we last spoke to him on the phone back in March, he said that he had lost 85% of the vision in his right eye and that despite his complaints, it was neglected for months," they said.
The brothers added that their father was being held in a tiny cell and has been allowed outside for only one or two hours a day. They also alleged he was kept in isolation from family, lawyers and a personal physician for 10 months before he was briefly allowed to see two of his sisters.
Khan was ousted as prime minister in 2022 and jailed the following year on what he has said are politically motivated corruption charges. His PTI party said it has faced an ongoing government crackdown.
Pakistan's government has rejected these claims, and said its priority was to maintain public order during the planned protest.
Authorities have stepped up security preparations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, deploying thousands of police personnel and placing shipping containers and other barriers at key entry points.
In 2024, pro-Khan protests on the streets of Islamabad turned violent. Demonstrators breached high security zones and clashes with security forces left six dead. When Khan was arrested in May 2023, nationwide PTI support rallies also led to violence, with military and government buildings suffering damage. Several people were killed and hundreds injured.
